Life Lost, Life Found
by Reiji Neko Mitsukai
Summary: AU When Dua first arrived, she found her home destroyed and stood on a stone peak. Krillin finds her, but this time she jumps. If this fic gets 10 reviews or better, another chapter will be written. R&R please!


Life Lost, Life Found  
  
"It's getting late, I better get going." "OK, bye. See you tomorrow, Krillin!" Goku waved as Krillin headed towards the door to leave. "Bye!" Krillin waved to Goku and Gohan, then stepped out of the house and flew away. He knew he should go back to Master Roshi's, but the strange appearance of the Sayian named Dua was really bugging him. Last time he saw her she had a defeated Vegeta in one arm and flew away. 'She's the only thing moderately exciting to happen ever since Cell came,' he thought to himself. As Krillin flew mindlessly forward, other thoughts came to mind. 'And what was with her eyes? I mean, they weren't human or Sayian, at least not that I've seen. And beating Vegeta in a fight, that's never easy! And he was acting strange for him, like he knew her somehow. And she knew about Bulma, Trunks, and Piccolo too. Could she be trouble?' Krillin's thoughts were brushed away when he came in sight of a stone peak. Atop the peak was a silhouette of a female, hidden by the light of the moon behind her. A cold wind blew from behind her, blowing her hair into her face. Krillin finally mustered the courage to speak. "Dua?" Without moving, she said, "I could end it all now. All I have to do is take one step back and it would be all over." Krillin looked at the tall, knife-like rocks behind her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why would you?" he asked. Again she didn't move. "It was all destroyed. My home, my family, my friends, my life, they were all gone." Krillin watched as she shifted one foot slightly behind her. 'SAY SOMETHING!' his mind screamed at him. "You wouldn't, would you?" he asked, a little hopeful. He didn't want to see her die. He had absolutely no clue why, but he didn't. Again, Dua didn't move. "Would it really cause any harm? If I took one step back, what difference would it make if I did not? The only place I ever lived, the only thing I ever knew is destroyed. The only thing it would achieve is stop my pain and let me lie in peace." Her head seemed to turn to look at him, or maybe look away. "You do not know me, Krillin. None of you ever have. But I know you. All of you. I know about Chiaoutzu being an emperor at one time, with Tien as his bodyguard. I know about Goku growing up in a forest. I know about all of you. Piccolo, Gohan, Chichi, Bulma, Yamcha, Trunks, all the Z-Fighters. I bid you farewell for the first and final time. May you and your fellow warrior's lives be better than mine." With that, she jumped. It seemed like only an upward jump at first, one that brought her far above the moon. 'What is she…' Then Krillin understood as she started to drop, her back facing the ground. She was getting more height so she could land more forcefully on the knife rocks below. Now that she wasn't silhouetted against the moon, he could see a little of her face. Her eyes closed, a look of complete peacefulness on her face. There was a sickening splat, then silence. Krillin was too stunned and horrified to move. He couldn't detect any Ki coming from what was Dua at all. Forcing himself to move, he reeled and flew back towards Master Roshi's at top speed.  
  
The next morning, Krillin set out to tell Goku what happened the night before. He didn't want to risk someone overhearing while he was talking on the phone. As he flew, he couldn't help but to think about what happened the night before. He remembered very clearly the look in her eyes before they closed on her journey down to the jagged rocks below. They looked almost sad. Then the eyes closed and she was gone in a matter of seconds. Krillin snapped back to reality to find himself nowhere near Goku's house. He let himself wander, even though he had no clue as to where he was going. After flying nearly an hour, he found himself flying over a huge area of ash. "What on Earth…" he asked nobody in particular. Curiosity took the best of him, and he flew down. Landing near the edge of the ash field. He carefully walked out further into the field, half expecting a hand to pop out from the ground and grab his ankle. As he ventured out further, a small noise reached his ears, then was blown away by the wind. He stopped for a minute, waiting for the noise to happen again. 'I could've sworn I heard something…' Then he heard it again. He walked deeper into the ash field. The sound became louder and constant. "It sounds like… crying?" His curiosity refilled, he continued walking until he found where the noise was coming from. "Oh… my… gosh…" In front of him a hole in the ground stopped his search. "Wow." The crying was louder, more persistent, and drilled a hole in his heart. Feeling pity for whatever was crying, all fear was pushed aside and he ventured down a set of spiral staircases. The crying continued to get louder. Once he reached the bottom, he stopped. He just stared at amazement and surprise at what was before him. In front of him were rows and rows of beds. Some were neatly made; others looked like they had been set aflame. Still others had children in them, or at least what looked like children. Most were burnt beyond recognition. Still others were missing heads, arms, and legs. Others had holes blown in them. There was only one completely whole body left. Krillin carefully walked over to it, once again expecting something to jump out at him. Perhaps one of the charred bodies he passed. Once he reached the body he saw it was a boy. He looked be about nine or ten years old. His spiky blonde hair was spread out onto the pillow of the bed he was laying on. Krillin tried to find a Ki in the boy, but there was none to be found. Near the boy's head there was a small metal plate attached to the bed. Engraved on the plate was "#295 TEHYIN SECOND OFFSPRING OF MEYIN & GETEN" 'His name was Tehyin. His parents, Meyin and Geten, must've died too.' Krillin thought to himself. The distraught wail of the living being snapped him from his thought. He followed the sound until he reached yet another spiral staircase, this one leading further down. He again made his way down, the crying getting louder. Once he reached the bottom, he stopped once again. On the far end of the room, there was a row of beds. About five feet across from the beds was a row of cribs. This pattern continued until it reached the other end of the room. He carefully started down the rows, looking for the source of the noise. He held in his gasp as he saw that many of the babies had no heads. He continued, trembling with the horror. Finally he reached a crib that had a living being within it, possibly the only survivor. She appeared to be at least one or two years old. She had blonde hair that was still growing. Her eyes were shut while she cried, tears streaming down her face. She was wearing ruby-red colored clothes that matched the blanket that seemed to have been pushed to one side of the crib. On the crib itself was a metal plate, attached to the top of the crib. Engraved was "#423 SECOND OFFSPRING TO MEYIN & BEDEN" 'What place is this? She has the same mother as the boy I found earlier, but a different dad.' He carefully picked her up, unsure if he was holding her right. She immediately quieted down and sniffled. Krillin mustered a small smile for the lone survivor and greeted her with a quiet "Hey there." She buried her small face into his blue jacket. Krillin carefully moved her to one arm and picked up the blanket in the crib. He gently tried to wrap her in the blanket. The finished result wasn't the best, but it would have to do. He started up the stairs again, talking to her softly. "Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of here." He thought for a moment, then added, "I'm going to take care of you too." He finally stepped outside where the cold wind was now blowing constant. The girl in his arms sniffled again. Realizing the blanket wasn't much protection against the cold wind, Krillin took off his jacket and carefully wrapped her in it. Krillin now stood wearing a white T-shirt, green sweatpants, and orange sneakers. Krillin took off flying, holding the small bundle close to protect her from the wind. After flying for nearly an hour, he nearly ran into Goku. "Hey Krillin!" said Goku. "I thought I'd meet you halfway." Then he noticed the bundle in Krillin's arms. "What's that?" Krillin carefully moved the collar of his jacket so Goku could see. "I think she's about two years old." Goku's smile slowly faded. "Well, where did you find her?" Krillin explained what happened, starting from the day before. "Are you sure she was the only survivor?" asked Goku. Krillin nodded. "There was no one else. That's why I'm going to take care of her." Goku nearly fell over. "WHAT???" "Oh come on Goku, look at her!" The girl's eyes slowly opened, revealing eyes that were similar to Dua's, only she had blue eyes. The look on the girl's face was of pure innocence. "Well, OK, what's her name?" "She didn't have one, so I'm going to give her one." "What're you going to call her?" "Livia." Goku thought for a moment. "Livia. That's a pretty name." "Thanks. Um, Goku?" "Hmmm?" Krillin grinned sheepishly. "Could you maybe tell me how be a father?" Goku smiled. "Sure!" They both took off, flying towards Goku's.  
  
A year later, Krillin was flying back to Master Roshi's after getting groceries. With a bag in one arm, Krillin looked down at the house as he neared. He could see Livia, now three years old, sitting on the porch steps, waiting for him. Krillin smiled, thinking back to the day when he found her. When he landed, Livia was on her feet in a flash, a beaming smile on her face. "Daddy!" She took off running towards him. Krillin put down the bag of groceries and picked up Livia as she ran up to him. He held her in one arm and picked up the groceries. "Did you miss me?" he asked her. "Uh huh!" She nodded, still smiling. Her hair, which had grown fast over the past year, was now tied back in a braid. Krillin walked into the house, still carrying Livia. Throughout the past year, a strong bond had formed between Krillin and Livia. Livia now considered Krillin her father and had grown so attached to him that she hated to be without him. She seemed to have forgotten about her past life, forgotten about her real parents, forgotten about any siblings she ever had. Krillin had found out that Livia was Dua's little sister, thus the resemblance. Krillin didn't know why, but he was happy she didn't remember her old family. He was happy with the way things were now, and he didn't want that to ever change. 


End file.
